Nikhat, Jaismine lead India’s goldrush, hosts finish with 20 medals

Greater Noida: Reigning domain defend Jaismine Lamboriya (57kg) and duplicate domain defend Nikhat Zareen (51kg) shone the brightest under the dazzling psychedelics as India, egged on by a vociferous home support, ended the World Boxing Cup Final with 20 medals (9 gold, 6 silver, 5 bronze) with women pocketing seven gold medals here on Thursday.

Among men, Sachin Siwach (60kg) and Hitesh Gulia (70kg) finished on top with Jadumani Singh (50kg), Pawan Bartwal (55kg), Abhinash Jamwal (65kg), Ankush (80kg), and Narender (90+kg) going down in the summit clash.

India had made 15 of the 20 possible finals, eight among women and seven among men, and the result comes as a shot in the arm for elite boxers who had endured a forgettable last year following a medalless run at the Paris Olympics. India’s success, expectedly, was driven by women boxers who came into competition on the back of three gold medals at the World Cup Stage II in Astana and two gold medals at the Liverpool World Championships.

While Minakshi Hooda (48kg),Jaismine, and Nupur Sheoran (80+kg) built on their memorable year, Nikhat had a reputation to defend. India’s ace pugilist had barely competed at home, exited World Championships at the quarter-finals stage, and was up against Chinese Taipei’s 20-year-old Guo Yi Xuan who had nothing to lose. But once the bout began, Nikhat bossed the competition from start to finish.

Using her height and reach to good effect, the 29-year-old seasoned boxer put up a masterclass to secure a 5-0 win. Her footwork, spatial awareness and sharp reflexes all came together on the night that mattered in a far cry from her scrappy semi-final win where she had struggled for accuracy and speed. In the process, Nikhat also ended her 32-month wait for an international gold -- her last win came at the 2023 World Championships at home.

“My last win was also at home, so it’s a bit of a flashback. I manifested this result, and I achieved it,” she said.

“I had strategised well for this bout. She (Xuan) is a counter-boxer, so my plan was to play counter-boxing instead of attacking. If I had attacked, it would have worked against me. I made her play to my strength. It’s good to finally win a gold medal after such a long wait,” she added. After a short trip at home in Hyderabad following an underwhelming Worlds, Nikhat went back to training at NIS Patiala where she sparred with boxers from a variety of weight ranges.

“I sparred with 48kg, 51kg, and 54kg boxers. In fact, this time I also sparred with 57kg boxers for the first time. All that has come good today. I desperately wanted to win this tournament and be counted among world’s best boxers again,” Nikhat said.

For Jaismine, WBC Final was the culmination of a fantastic year that has seen her win gold medals at the World Boxing Cup Stage II and World Championships. The 24-year-old from Bhiwani defeated Hangzhou Asian Games and Paris Olympics bronze medallist Wu Shih Yi of Chinese Taipei with a split verdict (4-1).

“We had just about a month to prepare for this tournament after the World Championships and I worked on my physical strength. My opponent is a very good boxer and beating her in the final feels very special. I didn’t think too much about her being an Olympics medallist,” she said.

World Championships silver medallist Nupur also carried her form into a final that could have gone either way. Up against Uzbekistan’s Oltinoy Sotimboeva in a rematch of the Worlds quarter-final -- which Nupur had won 4-1 -- the Indian was thoroughly tested in the first two rounds before impressing the judges enough to turn the eventual decision in her favour (3-2). Preeti Pawar, Parveen Hooda, and Arundhati Choudhary completed their golden comebacks while Minakshi backed her bronze at Word Boxing Cup Astana and Worlds gold to claim the top spot at home in a one-sided final.

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